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Justice for the Trayvon 2!

Support the Trayvon 2, Hannibal Shakur (Lamar Caldwell) and Tanzeen Doha. They were arrested while protesting the George Zimmerman not-guilty verdict in the murder of Trayvon Martin. The Trayvon 2 are being railroaded through the judicial system on false charges. This web site will keep you updated on developments in the case and urge you to support the Trayvon 2’s freedom. [Note: This website does not represent the views of the Trayvon 2 (Tanzeen and Hannibal). This website is run by the supporters of Trayvon 2].

Why? Because Hannibal and Tanzeen have both been outspoken critics of the US racism and imperialism. Tanzeen worked actively on questions of race, religion, and colonialism at UC Davis and other universities like San Francisco State and San Jose State. Hannibal was active in the protests around Oscar Grant’s 2009 murder by police. They are being prosecuted for their activism against racism and imperialism.

The state has done this before. Police and prosecutors jail activists who have broken no laws and subject them to costly, time-consuming, and painful legal proceedings. In doing this, the state hopes to drain the activists’ resources, scare young people away from activism and break the resolve of a movement for justice. Other young Black activists, including Fly Benzo, Chris Moreland, J.R. Valrey, and several others, have been arrested, prosecuted, and jailed for being politically outspoken against the murders of Black men. And, as with the Trayvon 2, the evidence against them was questionable or nonexistent.

The state is trying to isolate and persecute activists and organizers who resist its genocidal practices right here in the USA and across the world. All of these protests have stemmed from the murders of Oscar Grant, Kenneth Harding, Trayvon Martin, and other Black people by the police state and white supremacists who serve as auxiliary to the police.

The District Attorney has yet to present evidence against them. The state has been dragging its feet, maximizing the impact of this lengthy prosecution on the lives of Tanzeen (who is a father) and Hannibal (who is battling cancer). One week, the state forgot the court date! And at the last court date, they asked for another continuance because the arresting officer has not responded to repeated subpoena attempts. The judge had to issue a warrant for the arresting officer.

Why is the state avoiding presenting its evidence? Why won’t the officer answer the subpoenas? The police and prosecutor are trying to stretch this out to maximize the level of inconvenience and the problems these two men face.

Let’s also not forget what the arresting agency is: The Oakland Police Department, a known criminal organization. They still operate under a consent decree because they have a long history of systematic abuses and cover-ups. By their own definition, they are a gang. Like the Los Angeles and New York police departments, the government has concluded that their own police department cannot be trusted to handle its own affairs. Somehow, known criminal organizations like the OPD enforce the law that they place themselves above. Make no mistake: The Oakland Police Department is itself a known gang.

Hannibal and Tanzeen were initially charged separately, Tanzeen only with a misdemeanor. Later they were charged jointly with felony vandalism. This is a ridiculous and outrageous charge and both Hannibal and Tanzeen say they are being falsely accused. It seems apparent that the DA is trying to force a plea bargain on these two young men.

The state and its white supremacist allies have failed because the resolve of oppressed people has been stronger than the resolve of the oppressive state. But that doesn’t stop the state from trying like hell.

What we are seeing right now is very simple. The youths are rising up against their murder, abuse, gentrification, and mass incarceration by the state that has been arrayed against them since the United States was conceived. The state is responding with extreme physical and legal violence. We have seen this before. It is part of a continuum of racist oppression. In the state’s war against those it oppresses, the frontline is local. The people who put their bodies in the streets and demand that the society respond will change the time. The state knows this and tries to hit the activists with baseless and spurious charges. It’s happening again, and we all need to take action to stop it from succeeding.

These two freedom fighters, Hannibal and Tanzeen, are among many young Black people and others targeted by the US imperialist state who are not content to stand pat with the state and private security forces murdering Black men, women, and children every 28 hours. And the state has charged them with felony vandalism. Their case is not about punishing violent criminals and maintaining law and order. It is about the suppression of activism among young Black people and Muslims.

A question for you. Where do you draw the line? Where will we draw the line? If we let the state get away with murdering Blacks and Muslims and also prosecuting and persecuting those who stand against its racist genocide of Blacks and Muslims, where will we draw the line? If those who speak out about racist injustices like the murder of Trayvon are siphoned off into the vast prison-industrial complex, we will lose the infrastructure of our resistance. We will be left with a so-called “leadership class” that has for decades been co-opted by the state. Let’s draw the line and support Tanzeen and Hannibal. Demand that the prosecution drop all charges.

I hope that people who believe in justice will donate to the Trayvon 2 legal fund and come out for the next court date on March 6.